Selecting and presenting content relevant to user input

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media are provided. An example method includes receiving user input in a control, for example, one associated with a search engine. The user input includes a series of input characters that when completed would form a completed user request. The method further includes, while receiving the user input, evaluating the characters to identify completions for the completed request. The method further includes identifying, by one or more processors, a content item associated with the one or more completions and identifying display data associated with the content item for transmission to the user along with one or more completions in response to receiving the user input.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 14/215,202, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,361,381, filed onMar. 17, 2014, titled “Selecting and Presenting Content Relevant to UserInput,” which is a continuation and claims priority to U.S. applicationSer. No. 12/939,948, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,676,828, filed on Nov. 4, 2010,titled “Selecting and Presenting Content Relevant to User Input,” whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/258,144, filed onNov. 4, 2009, titled “Selecting and Presenting Content Relevant to UserInput.” The disclosure of each of the foregoing applications isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

This specification relates to providing information relevant to userrequests.

Internet search engines identify resources, e.g., Web pages, images,text documents, and multimedia content, in response to queries submittedby users and present information about the resources in a manner that isuseful to the users.

Conventional search services can include an input control that allowsthe user to provide a textual input in the form of a search query. Insome conventional services, as the user provides the textual input, oneor more suggestions for completing the textual input may be offered. Forexample, a drop down menu associated with the input control can bedisplayed that includes one or more popular suggestions to complete thetextual input.

Popularity is one metric that can be used to determine which suggestionsto offer. A user can select one of the suggestions resulting in thesubmission of the completed textual input to the search service. In thiscase, the selection of the suggestion results in the submission of thecompleted textual input to the search service for processing. Resultscan then be returned to the user based on the completed textual input.

SUMMARY

This specification describes methods, systems, and apparatus includingcomputer program products for presenting content in response to a userrequest.

In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in computer-implemented methods thatinclude the action of receiving user input in a control associated witha search engine. The user input includes a series of input charactersthat when completed would form a completed search query. The methodsfurther include the action of, while receiving the user input,evaluating the characters to identify completions for the completedsearch query. The methods further include the action of identifying, byone or more processors, a content item associated with the one or morecompletions. The methods further include the action of identifyingdisplay data associated with the content item for transmission to theuser along with one or more completions in response to receiving theuser input.

These and other embodiments can each optionally include one or more ofthe following features. The series of input characters forms a portionof a first or second search term of the completed search query. Theseries of characters is a prefix. The prefix includes a first searchterm and a portion of a second search term. The selection of acompletion for presentation to the user is based on frequency ofpreviously performed searches. The content item is an ad. The contentitem is a link. The content item is an answer to a question described bythe completed search query. The method includes presenting the contentitem in an augmented form of the control along with one or morecompletions. The method further includes presenting the content item inan augmented form of the control. The characters can be numbers,letters, symbols, or other identifiers.

In general, another aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in computer-implemented methods thatinclude the action of receiving user input in a control associated witha search engine. The user input includes a prefix that when completedwould form one or more words in a completed search query. The methodsfurther include the action of, while receiving the user input,evaluating the prefix to identify completions for the completed searchquery. The methods further include the action of identifying, by one ormore processors, a likelihood that a particular one of the completionswill constitute the completed search query. The methods further includethe action of identifying a content item associated with a most likelyof the one or more completions. The methods further include the actionof identifying display data associated with the content item fortransmission to the user along with one or more of the completions inresponse to receiving the user input.

These and other embodiments can each optionally include one or more ofthe following features. Receiving user input in a control includesreceiving keystroke input. The control is a search input dialog.

In general, another aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in computer-implemented methods thatinclude the action of receiving user input in a control associated witha webpage. The user input includes a prefix that, when completed, wouldform a completed user request. The methods further include the actionof, while receiving the user input, evaluating the prefix to makesuggestions for completing at least a portion of the request. Themethods further include the action of, having identified thesuggestions, identifying, by one or more processors, a content itemassociated with at least one of the suggestions. The methods furtherinclude the action of identifying display data associated with thecontent item for presentation to the user along with one or moresuggestions in response to the request.

These and other embodiments can each optionally include one or more ofthe following features. The method includes identifying a suggestionmost likely to constitute the request and selecting the content itemincludes selecting a content item associated with the suggestion.

In general, another aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in computer-implemented methods thatinclude the action of receiving user input in a control associated witha webpage. The user input includes a prefix that when completed wouldform a completed user request. The methods further include the actionof, while receiving the user input, evaluating the prefix includingdetermining one or more completions that embody the request. The methodsfurther include the action of identifying by one or more processors, acontent item associated with the prefix and one or more of thecompletions. The methods further include the action of identifyingdisplay data associated with the prefix and the content item forpresentation to the user in an augmented form of the control.

In general, another aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in computer-implemented methods thatinclude the action of, while receiving a first text input entered in asearch engine query input field by a first user, and before the user hassubmitted the first text input as a search request, deriving, in a dataprocessing system, a first dominant query from the first text input. Theaction further includes obtaining, by the system, a content itemassociated with the first dominant query that has a quality score thatis greater than a threshold. The action further includes presenting thecontent item and dominant query in an augmented search engine queryinput field to the first user.

These and other embodiments can each optionally include one or more ofthe following features. The quality score is associated with the contentitem, the first dominant query or both.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be implemented so as to realize one or more of thefollowing advantages. Relevant suggestions can be identified before auser completes his or her search query. Additional content can bepresented along with the suggestions to the user. The selection of oneor more content items presented with the suggestions can result in aredirection to a defined resource and obviate or otherwise avoidcompletion of the search based on the input provided by the user.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for determining and providing suggestionsincluding additional content related to the suggestions in response to auser request.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example system for providing one or moresuggestions to a user based on user input.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example method for obtaining and presentingcontent to a user based on suggestions derived from user input.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example architecture for a serving system and aflow for serving suggestions based on user input.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example answer box presentation system.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example answer box obtainer.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate example controls presented in response to userinput.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example hardware configuration.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 for determining and providingsuggestions and associated content in response to user input. Theassociated content can be of the form of Web content and/or Web-basedadvertisements (or “ads”) that are associated with the suggestions.Non-ad Web content can include links to web sites or other content,news, weather, images, video, auctions, related information, answers toquestions, or other information. The identification of the associatedcontent is described in greater detail below.

System 100 receives user input, typically in a control (e.g., a searchquery box) that is presented on a user interface associated with theclient device 104. The control can be of the form of a textual input boxor other input mechanism that is configured to receive user input. Insome implementations, the user input is of the form of textualcharacters, tokens or other input that make up a request. The user inputcan include numbers, letters, symbols, or other identifiers. The requestcan be of the form of a search query. In some implementations the userinput is evaluated as the input is received, that is, as each textualcharacter or token is provided. The client device 104 can provide theuser input, by way of the network 106, to the search service 102 as itis entered. In return, the search service can provide suggestions alongwith other content back to the client device 104. While the system shownincludes a remote search service that is linked by way of the network,portions of the search service 102 can be included in the client device104. While the system is described with reference to a search service102, other forms of user requests and other services can be provided insupport of a given user input.

The system 100 can provide suggestions, for instance, as completions inthe form of multi-term phrases or dominant queries that are derived fromthe received user input. For example, the search service 102 canevaluate the user input as received and identify one or more completionsbased on the user input. Based on the completions, one or moreassociated content items can be identified. Ones of the completions(e.g., popular ones) can be provided as suggestions to the user. Theadditional content items can be merged with selected ones of thecompletions and provided for display to the user. The suggestions can bedisplayed in proximity to or in an augmented form of the control thatreceives the user input. For example, the suggestions and associatedcontent can be included in an answer box that is displayed in proximityto the control (e.g., a search query box). In some implementations ads,navigational links, static content, video content, or other content canbe displayed in an answer box adjacent to (e.g., directly below) aninput control (e.g., a search query box) on the user's computer screen.The suggestions and additional content items can appear on the user'sscreen in an answer box or other form of display element after the userhas entered just a portion (e.g., a few characters) of the query, suchas after the input is sufficient to generate useful suggestions. In someimplementations, one or more content items are provided along with oneor more suggestions for completing the user input. The content items canbe included along with the suggestions or presented in a separateaugmented form of the control (e.g., expanded textual input box or dropdown box).

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes a search service 102 that iscommunicatively coupled to client device 104 via a network 106. Thesearch service 102 can be any content provider or search engine providerthat provides content and/or ads in response to user queries, inputs orother selections. Other forms of service are possible. The searchservice 102 can be accessible from applications running on the clientdevice 104, such as coupled to (or in communication with) the user's Webbrowser, any search input dialog, and so forth. The information returnedby the search service 102 can include suggestions, content related tothe suggestions, search results (e.g., Web content, etc.) as well ascontent (e.g., advertisements) that may correspond to the searchresults. In some implementations, the system 100 can be used to providesuggestions based on partial input that the user has provided inapplications other than Web browsers, such as input boxes or othercontrols used in support of other applications (e.g., forms used inonline shopping applications).

For the purposes of this disclosure, the user input received andprocessed to determine suggestions and related content is referred toherein as a prefix. The prefix can constitute one or more textualcharacters that are entered by/received from the user. A completionrefers to a particular completed request, and can be based on historicalprocessing of other requests. For example, a completion can be of theform of words or phrases that embody the request the user is providing,as evaluated as a portion of that request is entered. In someimplementations, the suggestions and/or additional content (e.g.,advertisements) returned by the search service 102 can correspond tocontent exactly matching the prefix entered by the user. For example, ifthe user enters “bicyc”, the system 100 can generate suggestions andlocate additional content items related to the subject of bicycles, suchas suggestions for ads for local bicycle shops. In some implementations,the information returned by the search service 102 can be based on theuser's interests, profile information, geographical location, etc. Theseadditional criteria can be combined for use with the user's input inorder to provide targeted content.

The suggestions can be displayed on the client device 104, which can bea laptop computer, a desktop computer, a portable computing device, asmartphone, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), orany other device capable of requesting and/or receiving content. Suchcontent can be received on the client device 104 using the network 106,such as the Internet (e.g., using wireless or wired access), local areanetwork (LAN), wide area network (WAN), a satellite network, or anyother network, etc.

In one example scenario of the system 100, a user 108 can enter apartial search string 110. For instance, the partial search string 110can form a part of a longer or complete string. As an example, the user108 can be in the initial stages of entering the request “google.” Thus,after entering four characters of “google,” the partial search string110 can be “goog.” As a result, suggestions 112 returned by the searchservice 102 can correspond to the partial search string 110 comprising“goog,” and the suggestions 112 can be search words or phrases allstarting with or including “goog.” In some implementations, thesuggestions 112 can include search words or phrases for suggestions thatcontain, but not necessarily start with, “goog” such as“www.google.com.”

FIG. 2 illustrates an example system 200 for providing one or moresuggestions and additional content in a control 202 to a user based onuser input. As one example, if the user enters a search string 204 suchas “New York” in a browser query field, one or more suggestions 205related to New York can be returned. Moreover, one or more additionalcontent items 206 (e.g., ads) associated with the suggestions 205 arealso returned, and can include ads associated with New York. Thecombined suggestions 205 and content items 206 can appear, for example,in an answer box, as suggested by the box (e.g., control 202)surrounding the suggestions.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the suggestions 205 are related to theuser's prefix (i.e., partial input) of “New York” are “New York City ...New York Jets ... New York Vacations.” The additional content items 206include a single ad, an advertisement for the New York Times, whichconsists of a display of the news publisher's home page Uniform ResourceLocator (URL) www.newyorktimes.com and a newspaper icon 207.

In the example involving “New York,” both terms “New” and “York” havebeen provided in their entirety by the user. However, suggestions can begenerated for partial entries of a word. For example, the completions“apple computer” or “applied physics” can be associated with the prefix“appl.” In general, portions of the search string 204 can be combined,expanded, or corrected in any way in generating completions. Forexample, completions can be based on any series of input characters thatforms the prefix. In some implementations, the prefix can include aportion of a search term, or the prefix can include a first search termand a portion of a second search term, to name a few examples.

Suggestions 205 can be provided to a browser 208 executing on a client209, such as the user's laptop computer, desktop computer, smart phone,cell phone, PDA, or other electronic device used for accessing theInternet. The browser 208 and the client 209 can receive the suggestions205 and additional content items 206 over the network 106 (e.g., theInternet or other network) from a search application 210 coupled to asearch engine 212. As one example, the search application 210 can be anysearch application, and the search engine 212 can be any or all of themultiple search engines used by any search service to process any number(e.g., millions or more) of searches each day.

In some implementations, cached ad-completion pairs 213 can provide thebasis for generating additional content items 206. The system 200 canpopulate and update the ad-completion pairs 213 by querying ad mixers(not shown) in the background. For example, completions can bedetermined based on predictions of the most popular requests (e.g.,search queries) received. One or more content items can be associatedwith each completion, forming pairs that are stored as ad-completionpairs 213. The actual additional content items or links thereto can bestored, for example, in repository 214. The repository 214 can include,for example, keywords or other information from the ads and associatedad creatives. Ad-completion pairs 213 can be indexed by completion,keywords associated with a completion, or other means. Which completionsare associated with which ads (and hence mapped in the form ofad-completion pairs) can be based on the frequency of previouslyperformed searches. This provides the advantage of caching matchingitems that are generally more likely to lead to specific additionalcontent that is useful to the user.

In some implementations, the cached ad-completion pairs 213 can includeall relevant information, including the ad creative for a particular ad,thereby obviating the need for repository 214. In this way, ads can beserved directly from the cache.

In some implementations, additional content items 206 can include acontent item or a link to a content item. In some implementations, thecontent item can be an answer to a question described by the completedsearch query, such as “where can I buy Macintoshes online?” In thiscase, the content item or suggestions returned may not contain any ofthe terms included in the user input received (e.g., “where can I buyMacintoshes online?”) but may instead “answer the question,” listingsuggestions for ads and content related to the answer to the question.

The cached ad completion pairs 213 can be maintained and updated, forexample, by periodically (e.g., every half hour) accessing adinformation from ad mixers or other sources of content. Updates to thecached ad completion pairs 213 can occur by expanding prefixes intocompletions, and fetching or identifying content items for eachcompletion identified by the ad mixers.

The search engine 212 can access the additional content items stored inor pointed to by the ad-completion pairs 213 (e.g., by accessingindividual content items in repository 214). Access to the additionalcontent items can be provided by an ad server 216, capable of retrievingadditional content items in various ways, including ads associated withkeywords or other criteria. Search engine 212 can also access a webcontent server 218 that uses an index 220 to locate web contentcorresponding to an input search query.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a method 300 is shown for providing content toa user. The method 300 can be performed by a system, such as that shownin FIG. 2. At stage 302, textual user input is received. For example, auser can enter a search string 204 (e.g., “New York”) in a searchcontrol within the application 206 that displays a web page associatedwith the client 208 (e.g., the user's computer). Alternatively, a usercan provide a voice command into a microphone that is received andtransformed into a request that is provided to the search service. Asearch application 210 can receive the search string 204 for processing.

At stage 304, tokens (e.g., characters) of the user input are evaluatedin order to make suggestions for completing one or more terms. Forexample, after receiving the search string 204 (e.g., “New York”), thesearch application 210 can invoke the suggest engine 212 to identifycompletions based upon the user input, such as “New York City ... NewYork Jets . . . New York Vacations.” In this example, the completionsidentified here can be the same or different than those made after theuser has entered fewer characters, such as just “New Y”, “New Yo” or“New Yor”, and not completing the second term “York”.

At stage 306, a content item associated with one or more completions isidentified. For example, the suggest engine 212 can provide identifiedcompletions to ad server 216 to identify relevant related content to theidentified completions. Ad server 216 can match the completions toad-completion pairs 213 to identify particular content items associatedwith a given completion.

Display data associated with the content item is identified at stage308. Particular content items can be retrieved from repository 214 andcombined with completions provided by the suggest engine 212 to form thedisplay data. The display data can include the suggestion itself, anyidentified additional content items and any renderable control,including a link, image, etc. that is associated with the suggestion orthe additional content item. For example, for the additional contentitem 206 related to the www.newyorktimes.com, the display data caninclude the link or URL associated with the NY Times, as well as thenewspaper icon representing a newspaper.

At stage 310, display data is transmitted to the user. For example, thesearch application 210 can transmit the display data to the user via thenetwork 106. The display data can be received on the user's client 209for display in an application 208 (e.g., a web browser). The displaythat the user sees in his browser, for example, can be an answer boxdirectly below the search field, and the answer box can contain thedisplay data, including the suggestions and the additional content itemsidentified by the suggest engine 212.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example architecture for a content serving system400 and attending flow information for serving suggestions andadditional content based on user input. For example, the user input, inthe form of a prefix 402 or other portion of a user request, canoriginate from a front end 403, such as a front end within the user'sweb browser running on the user's client. The input can be passed fromthe front end to a complete server 404 and on to a suggest mixer 406.Passing the prefix 402 can be implemented as call from the completeserver 404 to a prefix-completion module 408 within the suggest mixer406. The suggest mixer 406 can auto-expand the prefix 402 into a set ofpotential completions. Expansion can be performed usingsuggestion-completion tables (e.g., either in memory or accessible viacalls) or other data sources. For each of these completions, the suggestmixer 406 can generate a lookup 410 directed to a set of cache servers412 for content items (e.g., ads 411) related to the completions. Thecache key can be, for example, “(query x country x language xexact/broad x suggest_experiment_id)” or some other format. If there areno cache hits (e.g., a cache “miss” 413), the suggest mixer 406 can benotified of the miss, and a new key can be registered 414 (e.g., queuedfor a cache update) to a local cache updater 416. The cache update 416can be used to populate/update the cache with new updated ad-completionpairs that can be matched against new requests from the user.Alternatively, if there are cache hits 418, the suggest mixer can returnone or more content items (e.g., ads) along with the completions 420(e.g., as complete tokens) to the complete server 404. As describedabove, the additional content items can be of the form of valid redirectURLs with valid clickstrings (e.g., the displayable label or link thatthe user sees).

The cache lookup 410 can be initiated when a request to suggestadditional content items is received from the complete server 404. Theprefix-completions module 408 can expand the received prefix into allpossible completions in-memory. The most likely completions can beidentified by the prefix completion module 408 and a search of the cachefor additional content items associated with the most likely completionscan made. The cache lookup 410 can access the cache server 412 todetermine if any additional content items (e.g., ads) are associatedwith the one or more most likely completions. In some implementations,the cache key used can have the format (query x country x language xexact/broad x suggest_experiment_id). In some implementations, to assurethe use of up-to-date content items, any content item returned by thecache server 412 that is older than a pre-determined age (e.g., 30minutes) can be discarded. If a cache key results in a cache miss 413,or if stale (older than 30 minutes, for example) content items arereturned, the suggest mixer 406 can make a call to the cache updater416. The call can result in the cache key being added to the in-memoryset of keys for the purpose of queued updates to the cache. Contentitems that are not discarded, for instance, can be served.

In some implementations, user reaction to the additional content itemscan be tracked. For example, any user click on an ad can trigger clickserving and click logging, capturing the information in a collection ofhistorical logs. The suggest mixer 406 can also issue a log request toan ad mixer 432 to explicitly log the shown ads as an impression. Clicklogging and the resulting log can be used, for example, to track thecosts charged to advertisers based on the number of times and otherfactors associated with serving respective ads.

The cache updater 416 can be a separate application running alongsidethe ad mixer 432 and the cache servers 412 in each data center, such asif multiple data centers are used to serve the additional content items(e.g., ads) and suggestions. Cache updaters 416 in general can beresponsible for periodically refreshing the cache by directly queryingvarious ad mixers, such as the ad mixer 432. The cache updater 416 canmaintain a list of cache keys and associated stats in-memory. The cachekey can be, for example, in a form such as “(query x country x languagex exact/broad x suggest_experiment_id)”. The cache updater 416 cancontinuously monitor ad requests corresponding to these cache keys, andissue ad request calls 434 against production mixers. The returned adsserved can also be published 436 to other remote cache updaters in otherdatacenters, which can cache them in the corresponding cache servers 412in that datacenter.

The ad mixer 432 can interact with other components of the system 400,such as a keyword server that provides access to a repository of allkeywords associated with content items in the system, as well as toolsfor matching content items with keywords. A creative server can provideaccess to the creatives for all of the content items under control ofthe system 400. A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) server can maintain andprovide access to all of the URLs for content items, including adlanding pages, alternate pages, redirects, etc. A suggester 446 cangenerally identify ads matching keywords or other criteria.

Controls

Suggestions and additional content items can be presented in a userinterface executing on a client device (e.g., client device 104). Theuser interface can include a control, for example a search engine textbox that receives the user input. In response to receipt of the userinput, suggestions and additional content can be presented in a control(i.e., in the same control, an augmented form of the control, or aseparate control). Reference is made herein to “control” as a userinterface element that is used to present suggestions and additionalcontent in response to received user input. The control is interactive,in that the control can be configured to receive user input (e.g., mouseselections of one or more items presented in the control) and inresponse thereto, provide one or more of the following. Upon detecting aselection of a suggestion, the control can complete the user input andsubmit the completed user input to the appropriate service (e.g., to thesearch service). Upon detecting a selection of an additional contentitem, the control can perform one or more operations including expandinga presentation associated with the additional content item, redirectingthe browser to a link associated with the additional content item,navigating to a landing page associated with the additional contentitem, to name a few examples. Other operations are possible.

One form of the control is a drop down menu box that is presented inproximity to a text box that received the user input. Other forms ofcontrol are possible. One particular form of control is an answer box.An answer box is a user interface element that can provide an answer toa question, and assumes the user input is of the form of a question.Answer boxes can be formatted to provide answers in the form ofsuggestions to a user. Answer boxes can as well provide additionalcontent along with the suggestions.

Answer Box Architecture

FIG. 5 illustrates an example answer box presentation system 502. In theexample shown, the answer box presentation system 502 is part of asearch engine system. The search engine system uses the answer boxpresentation system 502 to obtain an answer box 504, and then presentthe answer box 504 to a user 506. The answer box presentation system 502does all of this while the user 506 enters text input 507, and beforethe user 506 submits a search request for the text input 507. The answerbox presentation system 502 can select and present the answer box 504even when the text input 507 does not match a specific, complete phraseassociated with the answer box 504.

The user 506 interacts with the answer box presentation system 502, forexample, through a search engine user interface presented on a userdevice. The search engine user interface can be a search web page or anapplication interface. Example user devices include computers and mobiledevices. The search engine user interface includes a query input fieldwhere a user enters the text input 507, and a mechanism that the usercan use to submit a search request. The query input field can be, forexample, a field in a search engine web page, a field in a toolbarrunning in a web browser of the user, or a field in a search applicationrunning on the user device. The user 506 can use the mechanism to submita search request for text input, for example, by pressing a searchbutton in the search engine user interface, pressing the “enter” key inthe query input field, or otherwise indicating that the user 506 hasfinished entering input and the search engine should identify searchresults responsive to the input in the query input field. The searchengine user interface can further present information, for example,query suggestions, answer boxes, additional content related to the querysuggestions and search results, to the user 506.

The answer box presentation system 502 includes an input processor 508,an answer box obtainer 510, and a presentation engine 512. Thesesoftware components can run on the user device or on one or moreservers, for example, search engine servers, connected to the userdevice through a network.

The input processor 508 receives text input 507. For example, the textinput 507 can be text input entered in a search engine query input fieldby the user 506, or the text input 507 can be text generated from voiceinput received from the user. The input processor 508 receives the textinput 507 and determines whether the input should be sent to the answerbox obtainer 510. The input processor 508 can verify that the user 506has not submitted a search request, e.g., that a user has not used themechanism in the search user interface, or any other mechanism, to sendinput to the search engine indicating that the user has finishedentering input and that the search engine should identify search resultsresponsive to the input in the query input field. The input processor508 can also consider other factors, for example, whether the text inputhas a minimum number of characters, is ambiguous, or whether apredetermined amount of time has passed since the user 506 entered thelast character of the text input 507.

Once the input processor 508 verifies that the text input 507 should besent to the answer box obtainer 510, the input processor 508 sends thetext input 507 to the answer box obtainer 510. The answer box obtainer510 obtains an answer box 504 for the text input 507. The answer boxobtainer 510 is described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 6.

The presentation engine 512 receives the answer box 504 from the answerbox obtainer 510 and presents it to the user 506, e.g., by sending datarepresenting the answer box 504 to the user device for presentation inthe search engine user interface. The presentation engine can send otherdata in addition to the selected answer box 504. For example, thepresentation engine can receive a set of query suggestions, generateoutput comprising a list of query suggestions, additional content itemsrelated to the identified query suggestions and the selected answer box504, and send data representing this output to the user device forpresentation to the user 506. The presentation engine 512 can receivethe query suggestions from a query suggestion engine that generatesquery suggestions for the text input 507, for example, usingconventional techniques. Additional content items can be provided by thesystems 200 and 400, which are described with respect to FIGS. 2 and 4,respectively. The user device can present the suggestions and the answerbox 504, for example, in a drop down menu that appears below the searchengine query input field in the search engine user interface. Thesuggestions and the answer box 504 can be presented even if a user hasnot entered input indicating that the user wants the suggestions oranswer box 504 to be presented. The user device can alternatively useother configurations for presenting the output to the user 506. Examplepresentations are described below, with reference to FIGS. 7A-7D.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example answer box obtainer 602. The exampleanswer box obtainer 602 is an example of the answer box obtainer 510described above with reference to FIG. 5.

The answer box obtainer 602 includes a suggestion engine 604 and anassociation engine 606. The answer box obtainer 602 derives a suggestioncorresponding to the text input 507 using the suggestion engine 604, andobtains an answer box 504 associated with the suggestion using theassociation engine 606. While the below examples describe deriving asingle suggestion, multiple suggestions for the input can be derived,and multiple answer boxes 504, each associated with one or more of thesuggestions 608, can be obtained.

The suggestion 608 is a completion to the request that has been enteredby the user. The suggestion can itself be of the form of a completedquery that corresponds to the text input 507. The suggestion 608 can bethe text input 507 itself, or can be different from the text input 507.The suggestion 608 can be a completion of the text input 507. Forexample, if the text input 507 is “weather San Fr,” the suggestion 608can be “weather San Francisco.” The suggestion 608 can also be amodification of the text input 507. For example, if the text input 507is “wetaher San Francisco,” the suggestion 608 can be “weather SanFrancisco,” thus correcting the misspelling of “weather.” The suggestion608 can also be both a modification and a completion of the text input507. For example, if the text input 507 is “wetaher San Fr,” thesuggestion can be “weather San Francisco.” The suggestion 608 can alsobe a query that is related to the text input 507. For example, thesuggestion 608 can be a suggestion for the text input 507. As anotherexample, when the input matches a keyword or regular expressionassociated with a particular category of answer box, but does notcontain enough information to trigger a specific answer box, thesuggestion 608 can be the part of the input that matches the keyword orregular expression, plus a completion of the rest of the text input 507.For example, if the text input 507 is “weather San,” and the keyword“weather” is associated with a weather answer box, the system cangenerate the suggestion 608 by combining the keyword “weather” with acompletion of the rest of the input “ San.” The completion can begenerated using the techniques for generating the suggestion that aredescribed below.

The suggestion engine 604 can derive the suggestion 608 from the textinput 507 according to various heuristics. In some implementations, thesuggestion is selected from a group of completions for the text input507. The suggestion engine 604 can optionally add the text input 507 tothe group of completions. The suggestion engine 604 receives the groupof suggestions and determines a popularity value for each completion.The suggestion engine 604 receives the completions from a suggestionengine that generates query suggestions, for example, using conventionaltechniques.

The popularity value for a given completion is derived from the numberof times one or more users submit a search for the completion. Forexample, the popularity value can be the number of times one or moreusers submit a search for the completion divided by the total number oftimes the one or more users submit queries for each of the completions,e.g.:

${{{popularity}\mspace{14mu} {{value}\left( {{query}\mspace{14mu} x} \right)}} = \frac{{number}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {times}\mspace{14mu} {users}\mspace{14mu} {submit}\mspace{14mu} {query}\mspace{14mu} x}{\sum\limits_{i}^{\;}{{number}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {times}\mspace{14mu} {users}\mspace{14mu} {submit}\mspace{14mu} {query}\mspace{14mu} i}}},$

where query x is the completion for which the popularity value is beingcalculated, and each query i is a query in the group of querycompletions. The one or more users can be, for example, just the userwho entered the text input 507, or a larger group of users.

Other formulas for determining the popularity value can also be used.For example, the suggestion engine 604 can optionally weight the numberof times users submit each query by a measure of the quality of eachquery. The measure of quality can be derived, for example, from thenumber of times users select search results after issuing their queries,how long users view search results responsive to their queries, howoften users refine their queries, and whether users interacted withother features of search result pages presented in response to theirqueries. As another example, the denominator in the popularity value canbe a number of times queries that start with the input are submitted byusers.

The suggestion engine 604 identifies the number of times users submiteach query by analyzing user search history data. User search historydata describes, for each user represented in the data, queries submittedby the user. The suggestion engine 604 analyzes the user search historydata for the users and identifies the number of times the userssubmitted a query corresponding to each completion. The user searchhistory data can be anonymized for privacy protection. For example, theuser search history can refer to users by only an Internet protocol (IP)address of a user device or can generate a unique random number that isassociated with the IP address of the user device. Other anonymizationprocesses, such as hashing, encryption and obfuscation techniques, canalso be used to ensure that user privacy is protected. The user searchhistory data can also be sanitized to remove suspect traffic. Suspecttraffic can be, for example, traffic that has been identified as beinggenerated by bots, traffic that has been identified as being spam, orrepeat queries that are submitted by the same user in close successionto each other.

Once the suggestion engine 604 determines the popularity value for eachcompletion, the suggestion engine 604 selects one or more completionshaving criteria (e.g., popularity value, etc.) that exceed a thresholdas the suggestion. Example thresholds include 60%, 66%, and 75%. Thethreshold can be determined empirically. For example, a thresholddetermination system (not shown) can determine the appropriate thresholdby testing a variety of thresholds and determining whether or not theyresult in a desired behavior of the system. The threshold determinationsystem can determine whether the behavior of the system is the desiredbehavior, for example, by using human evaluators that explicitlyindicate whether they found a presented answer box to be useful, orwould have found an answer box to be useful. As another example, thesystem can measure the number of times users indirectly indicate thatthey found a presented answer box to be useful. Users can indirectlyindicate that they found a presented answer box to be useful, forexample, by selecting an answer box that is presented for the text input507, spending a long time viewing an answer box, clicking on a link inan answer box, or not submitting any additional searches after beingpresented with the answer box.

A threshold determination system can make various modifications to theabove approach. For example, the threshold determination system candetermine thresholds for just ambiguous inputs and then apply thethresholds to less ambiguous inputs. Ambiguous inputs are inputs thatcan trigger several different suggestions, for example, “weather San”which might trigger “weather San Jose,” “weather San Francisco,”“weather Santa Fe,” etc. As another example, the threshold determinationsystem can determine different thresholds for particular categories ofanswer boxes. The threshold determination system can select decreasinglylenient threshold scores for each category of answer boxes, until anacceptable threshold is found for each category. This allows thethreshold determination system to make the thresholds as lenient aspossible for each query.

In some implementations, the thresholds are user-specific. For example,if a user frequently triggers answer boxes of a particular category, orhas profile data that indicates the user is interested in answer boxesof the particular category, the threshold can be more lenient for answerboxes of the particular category and the user. The thresholds can alsobe specific to categories of users, for example, users in the samelocation or users whose search histories indicate that they share searchinterests. Users' search histories can indicate that the users sharesearch interests, for example, when the search histories have more thana threshold number of queries in common.

In some implementations, the suggestion 608 is a query that appears themost often among queries issued by the user that begin with text thatmatches the text input 507. In some implementations, the suggestionengine 604 analyzes user search history data for the user entering thetext input 507 to find one or more queries previously submitted by theuser that begin with text that matches the text input 507. Text matchesthe text input 507 if the text is identical to the text input 507, ordiffers from the text input 507 in inconsequential ways, e.g., asdetermined by the search engine system. Text differs from the text input507 in inconsequential ways, for example, when the text and the textinput 507 are identical, except for the use of stop words, spelling,word order, or the substitution of synonyms. For example, if the textinput 507 is “weather San,” or “wehather San” and the user hadpreviously searched for “weather San Francisco,” “weather San Jose,”“the weather Santa Fe,” and “weather Mountain View,” the document queryengine 604 identifies “weather San Francisco,” “weather San Jose,” and“the weather Santa Fe” as the most likely suggestions. The suggestionengine 604 ignores “weather Mountain View” as it does not start withinput similar to “weather San.” The suggestion engine 604 then selectsthe query having a number of appearances that satisfy a threshold.

The threshold can be a predetermined number of appearances.Alternatively, the threshold can be determined from the total number oftimes the queries were submitted. For example, the threshold can befifty-percent of the submitted queries. For example, if the usersearched for “weather San Francisco” ten times, “weather San Jose” fivetimes, and “the weather Santa Fe” one time, and the threshold isfifty-percent of the number of times the user searched for the queries,the threshold is eight. The suggestion engine 604 selects “weather SanFrancisco” as the suggestion, because it was submitted ten times, andten is greater than the threshold of eight. The suggestion engine 604can optionally weight the number of times each query appears by theamount of time since each query was submitted, with a lower weight givento older queries.

In some implementations, the suggestion 608 is a query that isfrequently submitted by the user, regardless of the text input 507. Forexample, the user can click on the query input field when the queryfield contains an empty text string as the text input 507. Thesuggestion engine 604 can then analyze the user search history toidentify the queries that the user submits the most frequently, andselect one of them as the suggestion. For example, the suggestion engine604 can select a query that appears at least a threshold number of timesin the search history. The threshold can be determined empirically.

In some implementations, the suggestion 608 is the query that willtrigger an answer box of a category that is frequently triggered byqueries issued by the user. The suggestion engine 604 can determine thata given category of answer box is frequently triggered by the user, forexample, when the percentage of queries submitted by the user thattrigger answer boxes of the given category is larger by a thresholdamount from the percentage of queries submitted by a larger group ofusers that trigger answer boxes of the given category. Alternatively,the suggestion engine 604 can look at a smaller group of queries, forexample, queries sharing a pattern matched by the input. For example,when the input includes a city name, the suggestion engine 604 cancompute the percentage of queries including a city name. In someimplementations, the suggestion engine 604 analyzes user search historydata for the user entering the text input 507 to determine categories ofanswer boxes that would be triggered by previous queries submitted bythe user. For example, if the user frequently searches for “weather” andvarious city names, the suggestion engine 604 identifies that the userfrequently submits search queries that cause weather answer boxes to bepresented. Therefore, if the text input 507 is the city name “San Jose”,the query engine 604 can identify the suggestion as “San Jose weather.”As another example, if the user frequently submits queries that triggerfinancial answer boxes that provide financial information on variousstocks, and the user enters text input 507 identifying a stock, thesuggestion engine 604 can identify the suggestion as “financialinformation” plus the name of the stock, or some other query that willsimilarly trigger a financial information answer box.

In some implementations, the suggestion 608 is the query that best fitswith user profile data. User profile data can be explicit data enteredby a user and can include, for example, a user's location, language,time zone, and preferences. User profile data can also be implicit datathat is determined as needed, for example, the location of the user thatis determined by applying geo-location to the user's IP address. In someimplementations, the suggestion engine 604 processes the input todetermine whether the input is missing terms or characters that wouldtrigger a particular category of answer box. If the input is missingterms or characters that would trigger a particular category of answerbox, the suggestion engine 604 can use the profile data to generate asuggestion that includes the missing terms or characters.

In some implementations, a combination of one or more of the heuristicsand techniques described above can be used. For example, the suggestionengine 604 can selected the suggestion 608 from an analysis of querysuggestions and user search history data for the user entering the textinput 507. The suggestion engine 604 can filter out suggestions that donot appear more than a threshold number of times in the user searchhistory data, or can adjust the popularity scores for the querysuggestions described above by how frequently the query suggestionsappear in the user search history data.

The association engine 606 receives the suggestion 608 and obtains ananswer box associated with the suggestion 608. For example, theassociation engine 606 can maintain an answer box-triggering phrasedatabase that associates answer boxes with the most common triggeringphrases for the answer boxes. A triggering phrase for a given answer boxis the completion that the answer box is presented in response to. Theassociation engine 606 can determine the most common triggering phrasesfor each answer box, for example, by analyzing historical datadescribing how often answer boxes are triggered in response to variousqueries. The association engine 606 uses this database to select theanswer box 504 by identifying a triggering phrase matching thesuggestion 608 in the database, and then selecting the answer boxassociated with the triggering phrase in the database. The database canbe updated as new queries trigger the answer boxes, and as newcategories of answer boxes are created.

If multiple suggestions 608 are identified, the association engine 606can select the answer box 504 that is most frequently associated withthe suggestions 608, or can select an answer box 504 for each suggestion608.

Once the association engine 606 selects the answer box 504, theassociation engine 606 obtains the answer box 504. How the associationengine 606 obtains the answer box is dependent on whether the answer boxis static or dynamic. Static answer boxes are answer boxes whose contentis predetermined. Static answer boxes are stored, for example, in a datastorage storing answer boxes. In contrast, dynamic answer boxes areanswer boxes whose content is obtained as needed. Some answer boxes canbe static at some points in time and dynamic at other points in time.For example, the content in an answer box can be updated according to aregular schedule. When the content needs to be updated, the answer boxis a dynamic answer box. However, once the content is updated, thecontent is cached and the answer box is a static answer box, until thetime for the next update.

The association engine 606 obtains static answer boxes from the datastorage where they are stored. Obtaining an answer box can includeidentifying content related to or associated with the completion forpresentation along with the completion in the answer box. That contentcan be static, or dynamic.

When the association engine 606 is obtaining a dynamic answer box, theassociation engine 606 obtains content associated with the completion orresponsive to the category and the parameter of the answer box, forexample, according to rules associated with the category of the answerbox 504. The association engine 606 can obtain the content (i.e.,additional content) from a backend server that manages data for thecategory of the answer box 504. Alternatively, the association enginecan receive the content from a cache that caches content for recentlyobtained answer boxes. Once the association engine 606 obtains thecontent, the association engine 606 formats the content according to atemplate associated with the category of the answer box 504.

User Interface Examples

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate example controls presented in response toprefixes submitted by a user. The example controls can be obtained, forexample, using the techniques described above. In these examples, theadditional content items presented along with the suggestions are of theform of advertisements.

FIG. 7A illustrates an example control 702 a with ad informationpresented vertically, having the URL to the right. Specifically, thecontrol 702 a displays an ad block 704 (e.g., for the official eBaysite) with ad links 706 (e.g., “Today's insider deals . . . Gift finder... Top ten items”) displayed below a site name 708 (e.g., “eBay®—Official Site”). Further, a URL 710 (e.g., www.eBay.com/Shop_eBay)corresponding to the site is displayed to the right of the site name708. The information in the control 702 a corresponds, for example, topartial text 712 entered in an input box 714. For example, the partialtext 712 can be “ebay|” as signified by using the cursor symbol “|” tothe right of “ebay” that the user has entered. The partial text 712 canappear, for instance, in the input box 714, such as the search box inthe user's browser. Moreover, content suggestions 716 (e.g., ebaymotors, ebay UK, ebay coupon, etc.) are displayed in a block above thead block 704. In some implementations, suggestions (e.g., motors, UK,coupon, etc.) can be distinguished from other text (e.g., the partialtext “ebay” or the additional content items) using bolding, italics,colored text, highlighting, or in other ways.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example control 702 b with ad informationpresented horizontally, having the URL to the right. In this example,the control 702 b displays ad links 706 “Today's insider deals ... Giftfinder ... Top ten items” together on the same line, directly below thesite name 708. Further, the URL 710 is displayed to the right of thesite name 708, which is identical to the way that it is presented in thecontrol 702 a. In horizontal displays, such as in the current example,ad links 706 can wrap to multiple lines if not all ad links 706 can fiton a single line. This may occur more frequently, for example, on userdevices having narrow screens, such as cell phones, smart phones, PDAs,etc.

FIG. 7C illustrates an example control 702 c with ad informationpresented vertically, having the URL below the site name. Specifically,in this example, the control 702 c displays ad links 706 “Today'sinsider deals ... Gift finder ... Top ten items” together on separatelines (as is done in FIG. 7A), directly below the site name 708.Further, the URL 710 is displayed below the site name 708, which isdifferent from the way that it is presented in the controls 702 a and702 b.

FIG. 7D illustrates an example control 702 d with ad informationpresented horizontally, having the URL below the site name.Specifically, in this example, the control 702 d displays ad links 706“Today's insider deals ... Gift finder . . . Top ten items” together onthe same line (as is done in FIG. 7B), directly below the site name 708.Further, the URL 710 is displayed below the site name 708, which is thesame as the way that it is presented in the control 702 c.

In some implementations, when the user device (e.g., the client device104) on which the control is displayed has a small or narrow screen(e.g., on a cell phone, smart phone, PDA, etc.), the information in thecontrol can be formatted accordingly. For example, the browser can knowthe type of device (and display specifications) of the user computer onwhich it is running. As a result, on narrow screens, the vertical formatdepicted in FIG. 7C may be used. In some implementations, other formatsnot shown in FIGS. 7A-7D can be used. In some implementations, scrollbars or other controls may be included in the control, for example,allowing the user to scroll up and down or left and right. In someimplementations, additional controls can exist, such as minus signs orother controls for hiding information.

The appearance of additional content items (e.g., ads) at the top versusthe bottom of the control can also change. For example, an ad determinedto be a “bull's-eye” or extremely good suggestion can appear at the topof the control, especially when there is just one such ad. Similarly,ads considered less of a match (or less of a good suggestion),especially when there are multiple such ads, can appear at the bottom ofthe control. Placement of ads in this way, at the top and/or bottom ofthe control can provide the advantage of presenting more usefulinformation to the user in the right location (e.g., near the top whereit will be noticed). This can also avoid cluttering the top of thecontrol with a relatively large number of (or even a few) lesser-qualityads.

Placement of ads and other content items in the control can also dependon the type of control or element. For example, ads or links for videoscan be presented in a more prominent location in the control, whilecontent considered less interesting to the user can be displayed lessprominently.

In some implementations, content items appearing in the control can belabeled as such (e.g., with an “Advertisement” banner or otherindicator). The use of such labels can depend in part on how obvious thecontent item's identity (as an advertisement versus a non-ad) may beexpected to be explicitly known to the user.

In some implementations, a user can select which format to use. Forexample, users of some home computers may have a preference for ahorizontal arrangement of information, while others may favor verticalarrangements. Such preferences can be designated on various options,setup or configuration pages.

In the examples shown, all the suggestions start with the identifiedprefix (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 7A-7D, all suggestions start with theprefix “ebay,”). In some implementations, suggestions can include thepartial term somewhere else in the suggestions. For example, thesuggestions can include “great ebay deals” or other suggestions with“ebay” embedded, or even at the end of the suggestion (e.g., “findinggreat deals on ebay”).

FIGS. 7A-7D are examples of a type of control (and a variety of formats)for presenting suggestion and additional content items to a user inresponse to a user request. Other forms of controls are possible.

In addition to the method 300 described with respect to FIG. 3, othermethods can be used for making suggestions and for identifyingadditional content related to those suggestions, such as in the systems100, 200 and 400. In some implementations, a method is provided thatreceives user input in a control associated with a search engine. Theuser input includes a prefix that, when completed, would form one ormore words in a completed search query. While receiving the user input,the prefix is evaluated to make suggestions for completing (i.e.,completions) one or more terms in the completed search query. Havingidentified the completions, identification is made of a likelihood thata particular one of the completions will constitute the completed searchquery. In some implementations, identification is made of a/one or morecontent item(s) associated with a/one or more most likely of the one ormore completions. Display data associated with the content item can beidentified for transmission to the user in response to receiving theuser input.

In some implementations, a method is provided that receives user inputin a control associated with a webpage. The user input includes a prefixthat, when completed, would form a completed user request. Whilereceiving the user input, the prefix is evaluated to make suggestionsfor completing at least a portion of the request. That is, one or morecompletions that embody a complete request associated with the prefixcan be identified.

Having identified completions, identification is made of one or morecontent items associated with the completions. Display data associatedwith the one or more content items can be identified for presentation tothe user in response to the request.

In some implementations, a method is provided that receives user inputin a control associated with a webpage. The user input includes a prefixthat, when completed, would form a completed user request. Whilereceiving the user input, the prefix is evaluated to determine one ormore potential completed requests. Identification is made of a contentitem associated with the prefix and a potential completed request.Display data associated with the prefix can be identified forpresentation to the user in an augmented form of the control.

In some implementations, a method is provided that receives a first textinput entered in a search engine query input field by a first user.Before the user has submitted the first text input as a search request,a first dominant query is derived from the first text input. The systemobtains a content item associated with the first dominant query that hasa quality score that is greater than a threshold. The quality score canbe associated with the content item, the first dominant query or acombination of the two. The content item and dominant query can bepresented in an augmented search engine query input field to the firstuser.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of computing devices 800, 850 that may be usedto implement the systems and methods described in this document, aseither a client or as a server or plurality of servers. Computing device800 is intended to represent various forms of digital computers, such aslaptops, desktops, workstations, personal digital assistants, servers,blade servers, mainframes, and other appropriate computers. Computingdevice 850 is intended to represent various forms of mobile devices,such as personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, smartphones,and other similar computing devices. The components shown here, theirconnections and relationships, and their functions, are meant to beexemplary only, and are not meant to limit implementations of theinventions described and/or claimed in this document.

Computing device 800 includes a processor 802, memory 804, a storagedevice 806, a high-speed interface 808 connecting to memory 804 andhigh-speed expansion ports 810, and a low speed interface 812 connectingto low speed bus 814 and storage device 806. Each of the components 802,804, 806, 808, 810, and 812, are interconnected using various busses,and may be mounted on a common motherboard or in other manners asappropriate. The processor 802 can process instructions for executionwithin the computing device 800, including instructions stored in thememory 804 or on the storage device 806 to display graphical informationfor a GUI on an external input/output device, such as display 816coupled to high speed interface 808. In other implementations, multipleprocessors and/or multiple buses may be used, as appropriate, along withmultiple memories and types of memory. Also, multiple computing devices800 may be connected, with each device providing portions of thenecessary operations (e.g., as a server bank, a group of blade servers,or a multi-processor system).

The memory 804 stores information within the computing device 800. Inone implementation, the memory 804 is a computer-readable medium. In oneimplementation, the memory 804 is a volatile memory unit or units. Inanother implementation, the memory 804 is a non-volatile memory unit orunits.

The storage device 806 is capable of providing mass storage for thecomputing device 800. In one implementation, the storage device 806 is acomputer-readable medium. In various different implementations, thestorage device 806 may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, or a tape device, a flash memory or other similarsolid state memory device, or an array of devices, including devices ina storage area network or other configurations. In one implementation, acomputer program product is tangibly embodied in an information carrier.The computer program product contains instructions that, when executed,perform one or more methods, such as those described above. Theinformation carrier is a computer- or machine-readable medium, such asthe memory 804, the storage device 806, or a memory on processor 802.

The high speed controller 808 manages bandwidth-intensive operations forthe computing device 800, while the low speed controller 812 manageslower bandwidth-intensive operations. Such allocation of duties isexemplary only. In one implementation, the high-speed controller 808 iscoupled to memory 804, display 816 (e.g., through a graphics processoror accelerator), and to high-speed expansion ports 810, which may acceptvarious expansion cards (not shown). In the implementation, low-speedcontroller 812 is coupled to storage device 806 and low-speed expansionport 814. The low-speed expansion port, which may include variouscommunication ports (e.g., USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet, wireless Ethernet)may be coupled to one or more input/output devices, such as a keyboard,a pointing device, a scanner, or a networking device such as a switch orrouter, e.g., through a network adapter.

The computing device 800 may be implemented in a number of differentforms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be implemented as astandard server 820, or multiple times in a group of such servers. Itmay also be implemented as part of a rack server system 824. Inaddition, it may be implemented in a personal computer such as a laptopcomputer 822. Alternatively, components from computing device 800 may becombined with other components in a mobile device (not shown), such asdevice 850. Each of such devices may contain one or more of computingdevice 800, 850, and an entire system may be made up of multiplecomputing devices 800, 850 communicating with each other.

Computing device 850 includes a processor 852, memory 864, aninput/output device such as a display 854, a communication interface866, and a transceiver 868, among other components. The device 850 mayalso be provided with a storage device, such as a microdrive or otherdevice, to provide additional storage. Each of the components 850, 852,864, 854, 866, and 868, are interconnected using various buses, andseveral of the components may be mounted on a common motherboard or inother manners as appropriate.

The processor 852 can process instructions for execution within thecomputing device 850, including instructions stored in the memory 864.The processor may also include separate analog and digital processors.The processor may provide, for example, for coordination of the othercomponents of the device 850, such as control of user interfaces,applications run by device 850, and wireless communication by device850.

Processor 852 may communicate with a user through control interface 858and display interface 856 coupled to a display 854. The display 854 maybe, for example, a TFT LCD display or an OLED display, or otherappropriate display technology. The display interface 856 may compriseappropriate circuitry for driving the display 854 to present graphicaland other information to a user. The control interface 858 may receivecommands from a user and convert them for submission to the processor852. In addition, an external interface 862 may be provide incommunication with processor 852, so as to enable near areacommunication of device 850 with other devices. External interface 862may provide, for example, for wired communication (e.g., via a dockingprocedure) or for wireless communication (e.g., via Bluetooth or othersuch technologies).

The memory 864 stores information within the computing device 850. Inone implementation, the memory 864 is a computer-readable medium. In oneimplementation, the memory 864 is a volatile memory unit or units. Inanother implementation, the memory 864 is a non-volatile memory unit orunits. Expansion memory 874 may also be provided and connected to device850 through expansion interface 872, which may include, for example, aSIMM card interface. Such expansion memory 874 may provide extra storagespace for device 850, or may also store applications or otherinformation for device 850. Specifically, expansion memory 874 mayinclude instructions to carry out or supplement the processes describedabove, and may include secure information also. Thus, for example,expansion memory 874 may be provide as a security module for device 850,and may be programmed with instructions that permit secure use of device850. In addition, secure applications may be provided via the SIMMcards, along with additional information, such as placing identifyinginformation on the SIMM card in a non-hackable manner.

The memory may include for example, flash memory and/or MRAM memory, asdiscussed below. In one implementation, a computer program product istangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computer programproduct contains instructions that, when executed, perform one or moremethods, such as those described above. The information carrier is acomputer- or machine-readable medium, such as the memory 864, expansionmemory 874, or memory on processor 852.

Device 850 may communicate wirelessly through communication interface866, which may include digital signal processing circuitry wherenecessary. Communication interface 866 may provide for communicationsunder various modes or protocols, such as GSM voice calls, SMS, EMS, orMMS messaging, CDMA, TDMA, PDC, WCDMA, CDMA2000, or GPRS, among others.Such communication may occur, for example, through radio-frequencytransceiver 868. In addition, short-range communication may occur, suchas using a Bluetooth, WiFi, or other such transceiver (not shown). Inaddition, GPS receiver module 870 may provide additional wireless datato device 850, which may be used as appropriate by applications runningon device 850.

Device 850 may also communication audibly using audio codec 860, whichmay receive spoken information from a user and convert it to usabledigital information. Audio codex 860 may likewise generate audible soundfor a user, such as through a speaker, e.g., in a handset of device 850.Such sound may include sound from voice telephone calls, may includerecorded sound (e.g., voice messages, music files, etc.) and may alsoinclude sound generated by applications operating on device 850.

The computing device 850 may be implemented in a number of differentforms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be implemented as acellular telephone 880. It may also be implemented as part of asmartphone 882, personal digital assistant, or other similar mobiledevice.

Various implementations of the systems and techniques described here canbe realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.These various implementations can include implementation in one or morecomputer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processor, whichmay be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storagesystem, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

These computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications or code) include machine instructions for a programmableprocessor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/orobject-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machinelanguage. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium”“computer-readable medium” refers to any computer program product,apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory,Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructionsand/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readablemedium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal.The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to providemachine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and techniquesdescribed here can be implemented on a computer having a display device(e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor)for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointingdevice (e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user can provideinput to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide forinteraction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to theuser can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback,auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can bereceived in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

The systems and techniques described here can be implemented in acomputing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as a dataserver), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an applicationserver), or that includes a front end component (e.g., a client computerhaving a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a usercan interact with an implementation of the systems and techniquesdescribed here), or any combination of such back end, middleware, orfront end components. The components of the system can be interconnectedby any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., acommunication network). Examples of communication networks include alocal area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), and theInternet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described.Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, various forms of the flows shown above may be used, with stepsre-ordered, added, or removed. Also, although several applications ofthe payment systems and methods have been described, it should berecognized that numerous other applications are contemplated.Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. (canceled)
 2. A method, comprising: determining,by one or more data processing apparatus and for a prefix thatrepresents a portion of a search query, one or more completions thatyield a completed search query when combined with the prefix; receiving,through a search engine input field presented at a user device, userinput including the prefix; identifying, by one or more data processingapparatus and based on the user input, an answer box for the one or morecompletions, wherein the answer box includes an answer to a questioncorresponding to the one or more completions; and providing, by one ormore data processing apparatus and prior to a completed search querybeing specified by the user input, instructions that cause the answerbox to be presented in a display of the user device along with at leastsome of the one or more completions for which the answer box wasidentified.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising determiningthat the prefix matches a portion of a first or second search term ofthe one or more completions.
 4. The method of claim 2, whereindetermining one or more completions that yield a completed search querywhen combined with the prefix comprises identifying the one or morecompletions based, at least in part, on a frequency of previouslyperformed searches that included the one or more completions.
 5. Themethod of claim 2, wherein determining one or more completions thatyield a completed search query when combined with the prefix comprisesdetermining a likelihood that a particular one of the one or morecompletions is being input based, at least in part, on the prefix. 6.The method of claim 2, further comprising providing instructions thatcause presentation of a given content item in the answer box.
 7. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising providing data that cause the oneor more completions to be presented prior to a completed search querybeing specified by the user input.
 8. The method of claim 2, whereinproviding the instructions that cause the answer box to be presented inthe display of the user device comprises providing instructions thatcause the user device to present the one or more completions and theanswer box to be presented in a drop down menu that appears below thesearch engine input field.
 9. A system, comprising: a data storagedevice; and one or more data processing apparatus that interact with thedata storage device and execute instructions that cause the one or moredata processing apparatus to perform operations comprising: determining,for a prefix that represents a portion of a search query, one or morecompletions that yield a completed search query when combined with theprefix; receiving, through a search engine input field presented at auser device, user input including the prefix; identifying, based on theuser input, an answer box for the one or more completions, wherein theanswer box includes an answer to a question corresponding to the one ormore completions; and providing, prior to a completed search query beingspecified by the user input, instructions that cause the answer box tobe presented in a display of the user device along with at least some ofthe one or more completions for which the answer box was identified. 10.The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions cause the one or moredata processing apparatus to perform operations further comprisingdetermining that the prefix matches a portion of a first or secondsearch term of the one or more completions.
 11. The system of claim 9,wherein determining one or more completions that yield a completedsearch query when combined with the prefix comprises identifying the oneor more completions based, at least in part, on a frequency ofpreviously performed searches that included the one or more completions.12. The system of claim 9, wherein determining one or more completionsthat yield a completed search query when combined with the prefixcomprises determining a likelihood that a particular one of the one ormore completions is being input based, at least in part, on the prefix.13. The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions cause the one ormore data processing apparatus to perform operations further comprisingproviding instructions that cause presentation of a given content itemin the answer box.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein the instructionscause the one or more data processing apparatus to perform operationsfurther comprising providing data that cause the one or more completionsto be presented prior to a completed search query being specified by theuser input.
 15. The system of claim 9, wherein providing theinstructions that cause the answer box to be presented in the display ofthe user device comprises providing instructions that cause the userdevice to present the one or more completions and the answer box to bepresented in a drop down menu that appears below the search engine inputfield.
 16. A non-transitory computer readable medium storinginstructions that, when executed by one or more data processingapparatus, cause the one or more data processing to perform operationscomprising: determining, for a prefix that represents a portion of asearch query, one or more completions that yield a completed searchquery when combined with the prefix; receiving, through a search engineinput field presented at a user device, user input including the prefix;identifying, based on the user input, an answer box for the one or morecompletions, wherein the answer box includes an answer to a questioncorresponding to the one or more completions; and providing, prior to acompleted search query being specified by the user input, instructionsthat cause the answer box to be presented in a display of the userdevice along with at least some of the one or more completions for whichthe answer box was identified.
 17. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 16, wherein the instructions cause the one or more dataprocessing apparatus to perform operations further comprisingdetermining that the prefix matches a portion of a first or secondsearch term of the one or more completions.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 16, wherein determining one or morecompletions that yield a completed search query when combined with theprefix comprises identifying the one or more completions based, at leastin part, on a frequency of previously performed searches that includedthe one or more completions.
 19. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 16, wherein determining one or more completions thatyield a completed search query when combined with the prefix comprisesdetermining a likelihood that a particular one of the one or morecompletions is being input based, at least in part, on the prefix. 20.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein theinstructions cause the one or more data processing apparatus to performoperations further comprising providing instructions that causepresentation of a given content item in the answer box.
 21. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein theinstructions cause the one or more data processing apparatus to performoperations further comprising providing data that cause the one or morecompletions to be presented prior to a completed search query beingspecified by the user input.